US aircraft carrier heads west from S.China Sea amid Middle East tensions
FILE PHOTO: Crews are seen on the flight deck of the USS Nimitz, off the coast of Busan, South Korea, 27 March 2023/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
HANOI - U.S. aircraft carrier USS Nimitz left the South China Sea on Monday morning heading west, according to data from ship tracking website Marine Traffic, after a reception for its planned port call in central Vietnam was cancelled.
The carrier had planned to visit Danang City later this week, but two sources, including one diplomat, said a formal reception slated for June 20 had been called off.
One of the sources said the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi had informed him about the cancellation, due to "an emergent operational requirement".
The embassy didn't immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group conducted maritime security operations in the South China Sea last week, as "part of the U.S. Navy's routine presence in the Indo-Pacific," according to the website of the Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
Data from Marine Traffic showed the carrier on Monday morning was moving west in the direction of the Middle East, where the battle between Israel and Iran is escalating. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
32 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Putin and Erdogan condemn Israeli actions against Iran in phone call, Kremlin says
FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Astana, Kazakhstan July 3, 2024. Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via REUTERS/ File Photo Putin and Erdogan condemn Israeli actions against Iran in phone call, Kremlin says MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan condemned Israel's "act of force" against Iran and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities when they spoke by phone on Monday, the Kremlin said. "Both sides expressed the most serious concern about the ongoing escalation of the Iran-Israel conflict, which has already led to a large number of casualties and is fraught with serious long-term consequences for the entire region," a Kremlin statement said. "The leaders spoke in favor of an immediate cessation of hostilities and the settlement of contentious issues, including those related to the Iranian nuclear programme, exclusively by political and diplomatic means." The two sides agreed to remain in close cooperation, the statement said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
UN slashes global aid plan over ‘deepest funding cuts ever'
With 2025 nearly halfway through, the UN has received only US$5.6 billion out of the US$44 billion originally sought for 2025. PHOTO: REUTERS GENEVA - The United Nations said on June 16 it was drastically scaling back its global humanitarian aid plans because of the 'deepest funding cuts ever' – leaving tens of millions of people facing dire straits. The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it was seeking US$29 billion (S$37.12 billion) in funding for 2025 compared to the US$44 billion originally requested in December, in a 'hyper-prioritised' appeal. Since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January, the United States – the world's top donor – has heavily slashed foreign aid, causing havoc in the humanitarian sector across the globe. Drastic US funding cuts have had dramatic consequences for emergency aid, vaccination campaigns and the distribution of drugs to fight AIDS. Other major donor countries have also cut back their contributions in the face of an uncertain economic outlook. 'Brutal funding cuts leave us with brutal choices,' OCHA chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement. 'All we ask is one per cent of what you chose to spend last year on war. But this isn't just an appeal for money – it's a call for global responsibility, for human solidarity, for a commitment to end the suffering.' In late April, while visiting a hospital in Kandahar in Afghanistan, Mr Fletcher warned: 'Cutting funding for those in greatest need is not something to boast about... The impact of aid cuts is that millions die.' With 2025 nearly halfway through, the UN has received only US$5.6 billion out of the US$44 billion originally sought for 2025 – a mere 13 per cent. In total, the original plan covered more than 70 countries and aimed to assist nearly 190 million vulnerable people. Even so, that plan acknowledged there were 115 million people the UN would not be able to reach. 'We have been forced into a triage of human survival,' Mr Fletcher said on June 16. The mathematics 'is cruel, and the consequences are heartbreaking'. 'Too many people will not get the support they need, but we will save as many lives as we can with the resources we are given,' he said. Aid will now be directed so that it can 'reach the people and places facing the most urgent needs', with those in 'extreme or catastrophic conditions' as the starting point, said Mr Fletcher. 'This will ensure that limited resources are directed where they can do the most good – as quickly as possible,' the statement said. 'Red alert' Mr Fletcher's call came as the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) issued a joint early warning report identifying worsening hunger in 13 hotspots. Five of those places are facing an immediate risk of starvation – situations worsened by dwindling funds, the agencies said. Sudan, the Palestinian territories, South Sudan, Haiti and Mali have communities 'already facing famine, at risk of famine or confronted with catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity', said the report. 'The devastating crises are being exacerbated by growing access constraints and critical funding shortfalls,' it said. Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and Nigeria are now considered of very high concern and requiring urgent attention to save lives and livelihoods, it added, with Burkina Faso, Chad, Somalia and Syria the other hotspots. 'This report is a red alert,' said WFP chief Cindy McCain. 'Without funding and access, we cannot save lives. Urgent, sustained investment in food assistance and recovery support is crucial as the window to avert yet more devastating hunger is closing fast.' In late March, WFP said it was facing an 'unprecedented crisis' due to a 40 per cent cut in its funding for 2025, risking life-saving aid for 58 million people. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
UN cuts aid appeal after donors slash budgets
FILE PHOTO: The United Nations headquarters building is pictured though a window with the UN logo in the foreground in the Manhattan borough of New York August 15, 2014. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File photo GENEVA - The United Nations on Monday slashed its aid appeal to donors by over a third, saying it was now seeking $29 billion to support 114 million people amid what it described as the deepest funding cuts ever. U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher said that the scale of donor retrenchment had been so large that it has been "forced into a triage of human survival." "The math is cruel, and the consequences are heartbreaking. Too many people will not get the support they need, but we will save as many lives as we can," he said. In a statement, the U.N. said its request prioritises, but does not replace, an earlier appeal for over $47 billion launched in December 2024 - before U.S. President Donald Trump announced major cuts to foreign aid that he has himself described as "devastating". Other Western governments, which have previously accounted for the lion's share of humanitarian budgets, are also retrenching as they instead prioritise defence spending. The previous U.N. humanitarian appeal was less than 13% funded nearly halfway through the year, the U.N. said. "All we ask is one percent of what you chose to spend last year on war," said Fletcher. "But this isn't just an appeal for money - it's a call for global responsibility, for human solidarity, for a commitment to end the suffering," he said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
